


Octavian Kidnaps Santa Claus

by WindChimeGhost



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Camp Half-Blood, Camp Jupiter, Christmas, Demigods, Gen, Greek and Roman Mythology - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 18:05:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3456731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindChimeGhost/pseuds/WindChimeGhost
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s the week before Christmas and Percy Jackson has been selected by Chiron to take on the most challenging quest ever: finding a little boy’s missing Santa Claus plushie, which has ended up in the hands of Octavian.</p><p>Short story told from Percy’s point of view.</p><p>Takes place after the Heroes of Olympus series. May contain spoilers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Octavian Kidnaps Santa Claus

**Author's Note:**

> ~ Critique not desired ~
> 
> I wrote this fanfic the end of last year (2014) with plans to upload it in December. BUT… things happened in life and I didn’t get it finished on time. Sorry about that. But here it is now. Hope everyone enjoys it. =)
> 
> This story takes place AFTER ‘The Blood of Olympus’.
> 
> And just to explain why Octavian is alive at this point: He’s one of my favorite characters (yeah, don’t judge me), so I’ve created an ‘alternate ending’ inside of my head where Will Solace saved his life by cutting him loose of the onager right before it fired. Reyna and Frank discussed banning Octavian after the war, but decided instead to allow him to stay at Camp Jupiter where they can keep an eye on him. Octavian has been stripped of rank and spends his days working in the unicorn stables and helping with rewriting the Sibylline Books with Rachel, Ella, and Tyson. He suffers from mild depression to a certain extent over losing his ability to tell prophecies. He’s calmed down considerably, although he does have outbursts of madness from time to time and still looks at the Greeks with disgust.
> 
> This is MY alternate ending for Octavian that I entertain in my own mind. I do not claim it to be canon by any means. I just made it up to make myself feel better after reading Octavian’s demise in the last book, and also so it will give me a way to write fanfics of him that take place after the series. If you’re an Octavian fan, then you might like this idea. If you’re a hater of the character, then please ignore it and do not bother to leave comments on my story. ANY bashing or flaming I get will be deleted.
> 
> Percy Jackson and the Olympians/The Heroes of Olympus and all related characters © Rick Riordan
> 
> Fanfic and plot ©2015 by me (please do not take, use, or edit without my permission)

“You want me to do _what_?!” I said, probably a little too shrilly. I couldn’t help it, though. I couldn’t believe what Chiron was asking me to do—what he had called me all the way over to the Big House to discuss.

It was the week before Christmas…and I could probably start quoting some sort of Christmas poem right about here, but I won’t. While demigods and other beings of the so-called mythical world didn’t normally celebrate mortal holidays, I still enjoyed partaking in the season. I guess because it brought back good memories of the days before I found out that I was a half-blood. I still enjoyed the smells, the decorations, the music, the feeling of peace and joy, and the blue candy Mom always stuffed my stocking with. It also gave me the opportunity to get away from the stress of demigod life and school and spend time with my mom, stepfather, and Annabeth. And this year was going to be special. I made plans to take Annabeth on a Christmas date: a nice dinner, maybe see The Nutcracker, and afterward, we would go ice skating and look at Christmas lights around the city. It would be the perfect day.

I was getting really excited as I went about tying up loose ends at camp. You see, around the end of November, I was called away from my college studies in New Rome to come back to Camp Half-Blood. Chiron needed my help in taking care of an emergency situation involving some baby hippocampi. I had to go see my father, Poseidon, about it. The whole ordeal had taken longer than I thought, pushing my stay in New York way into December. So I decided to just stay and swing by my mom’s apartment to spend Christmas and New Year with my family. Annabeth joined me at camp the week before.

Needless to say, I was eager to go home for the Christmas holidays since I hadn’t seen my mom in person for a long time. I sent her an Iris-message from time to time, but I was really looking forward to seeing her in person. All I had left to do was pack my bags, and Annabeth and I would be on our way come morning.

I had just laid my suitcase on my bed with intensions of packing it when Grover knocked on my cabin door and told me that Chiron wanted to see me at the Big House ASAP. He didn’t give me any more info than that, even after I asked. His only reply was, “Chiron didn’t say. But it sounds important.” Due to the nature of it all, it not only sounded important but also sounded very urgent, like another emergency. I hoped that it wasn’t _too_ urgent because that would mean I might be delayed getting out of camp.

I dropped what I was doing and hauled my rear to the Big House.

And there I was…

“It’s fairly simple,” Chiron replied, taking a sip of hot chocolate. “Little Wilbur lost his toy Santa Claus and needs someone to help him look for it.”

“But I told my mom that I would be coming home tomorrow,” I protested, hoping it didn’t make me sound like a whiny kid.

“I know, Percy, but this little errand shouldn’t take too long—a few hours at the most. It’s more than likely that he just lost it somewhere in the Ares cabin.”

“Why can’t his siblings help him look for it?”

“Most of them have gone home for the holidays, Clarisse is helping Mellie and Gleeson with their new baby, and the ones staying at the camp to look after Wilbur have already tried looking. Besides, he distinctly asked for you to help. Percy, he admires you.”

I ran my hand through my hair and mussed it up. “If his siblings can’t find it, what makes you think I can?”

Chiron shrugged. “I’m not saying that you can. Just try, Percy. It would mean a lot to him. It’s Christmas, after all.”

I sighed, setting my half-finished mug of hot chocolate on the coffee table. I suddenly felt guilty and realized that I couldn’t say no. This kid’s problem, no matter how trivial, was more important than me getting home at that moment.

“Yeah, you’re right,” I said, standing up. “I’ll…go see what I can do. If it takes longer than a few hours, I’ll send my mom an Iris-message and let her know I’ll be a little late.”

“Percy,” Chiron said gently. I turned, “Wilbur’s mother gave him that toy.”

I stared at Chiron a few minutes and then gave him an understanding nod before I turned to leave.

I walked away from the Big House and headed back to the cabins, slower this time. Even though the weather was controlled inside the camp’s boarders, there was still a thin layer of snow covering the ground and a chill in the air. It wasn’t overly cold, but cold enough to remind you that we were in the winter months. I guess they did it that way so it would give us a feeling of the season. The strawberry fields, however, were protected in their own warm bubble. I have to say it was nice that way. I’m one of those people who couldn’t imagine it being Christmas without cold weather and snow.

It was a crisp night. The moon overhead made the snow shine like thousands of tiny diamonds. And it was refreshing to hear the frosty snow crunch under my feet as I walked. It wasn’t curfew yet, but it was heading towards it. I silently hoped we would be able to find this Santa Claus before the cleaning harpies came out.

While I walked, I started thinking about what Chiron had said. I didn’t know Wilbur all that well, aside from occasionally seeing him wandering around the campgrounds, usually accompanied by one of his older half-siblings. He always smiled and waved whenever he saw me. He seemed to look at me as being some sort of superhero. I guess I sort of was. I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t even know his name until October. I did know that his story was one of the more tragic ones, and I had learned that from Frank.

Sadly, Wilbur’s mother had been a victim of the darker side of New York. While walking home from work late one night, she’d been attacked by a couple of muggers and brutally killed. Wilbur was left alone with no other family except for a grandmother who was too old and sickly to take him in. He was instantly taken and put into an orphanage until a satyr found him and brought him to Camp Half-Blood where Ares claimed him. Now he was under the care of his half-siblings, staying at the camp year-round since he had nowhere else to go. It had taken him a long time to adjust, which is understandable. I mean, it had to be rough on a kid of five-years-old to lose his mother, home, and pretty much his whole life all at once and move to a strange camp where he discovers that he’s part Greek god. I felt close to having a nervous breakdown when it happened to me, and I was twelve at the time. Of course, I didn’t lose my mother and home like Wilbur did, so it wasn’t as hard in that area. I could still go see them anytime I wanted and had the comfort and secure feeling that they were there. I really couldn’t imagine suddenly being alone with no family connections outside of camp.

Frank told me that Wilbur was still trying to adjust to camp life. He was shy and hesitant to trust people, but he was slowly getting used to it all.

Finally, I made it to the edge of the cabins area of camp. I peered around at all of the cabins. The place was pretty much empty and eerily quiet, except for the sounds of monsters off in the woods. Normally there were kids everywhere with the sounds of laughter and fighting drifting from the arena, dining pavilion, and volleyball courts. It was always odd to hear the place so dead silent whenever I was there during winter. Most of the campers had gone home for the fall and winter months. Only the ones who chose to stay year-round or didn’t have anywhere else to go remained.

I walked up to the Ares cabin and stopped. I hesitated before taking a cautious step forward. I suddenly remembered that the place was surrounded by live landmines. I could only assume that there weren’t any planted around the pathway leading to the door. I mean, I never knew of anyone to get blown up from visiting the Ares cabin. Then again, there was always a first time for everything. If there were landmines planted there, I would be singing ‘Jingle Bells’ on my way to the Underworld that night.

My eyes moved to look up at the boar’s head above the door and I shuddered. I didn’t really like being around that cabin since I had had more than one run-in with the Ares campers in the past, as well as with Ares himself. We weren’t always on the best of terms. We tolerated each other, but that was about as far as it went.

“Hey,” a gentle voice called from behind me, making me jump out of my skin. I guess, for whatever reason, my mind thought I had stepped on one of the landmines. I turned to see Annabeth walking up to me. “What’s up?”

“Wilbur’s toy Santa Claus is missing. Chiron wants me to help him look for it,” I answered, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw it was Annabeth. “It shouldn’t take very long. But if it does we might be late getting out of here in the morning.”

“Okay.” She smiled. “If you need any help, let me know. I’ll be in my cabin, packing.”

I smiled and nodded.

When Annabeth walked away, I turned and knocked on the door and waited. I heard some sounds on the other side and then the door creaked open slowly. Wilbur peeked out, a huge smile immediately forming on his face when he saw me standing there. He opened the door wider.

“Hello,” I said in a delicate voice, bending down to be on his level. “May I come in? Chiron sent me here to help you look for something.”

Like any child, he continued smiling, shuffling his feet, and looking every inch of me over while trying to hide behind the door. He had blond hair that stuck up in various directions like he had been hanging around Jason Grace too long and some of the electricity rubbed off on him. His face was full of freckles and he had green eyes. In his hand, he clutched a pale green blanket that dragged the floor. Apparently, he took after his mother a lot because I didn’t see much resemblance of Ares there.

“Wilbur, let him in,” a girl’s voice called from somewhere behind him. Wilbur moved and opened the door wider and I slipped through the opening.

“Vicky, right?” I nodded at the girl. It was hard remembering every camper’s name since there were far more of them than there used to be and that number constantly changing each year. I wanted to make sure I got this one right, though. I wasn’t exactly sure how a child of Ares would handle me getting something simple like a name wrong. I didn’t want to find out. I didn’t want another opportunity to take a trip to the Underworld that night.

“Yes.” She smiled, sitting down on one of the beds. She had dark brown hair that was closely cropped and stuck up in spikes, the sides around her temples being shaved. She wore a bright red sweater, olive green cargo pants, and combat boots. Chains hung from the belt loops on her pants. Not the normal jean chains that were a part of fashion, but real chains…like you would hang around a fence gate to keep it closed. Looking closer, I saw that a couple of them even had small colored padlocks hooked on them, as well as a skull keychain.

I gave Vicky a slight smile, hoping that I didn’t look too nervous, and then I turned to take in my new surroundings. I had never actually been inside the Ares cabin. So it was a new experience for me, needless to say—one that I quickly discovered that I could live without. I had no problem when it came to weapons. Obviously, since I wielded a sword on a regular basis, had been through war, fought monsters, and trained with fellow demigods. It would be kinda hard for me to be opposed to them when they were such a common part of my everyday life as a demigod. However, being inside the Ares cabin was a different story. Let’s just say that I would not want to be inside it if a tornado ever came through the camp. I began to wonder if I had taken a wrong turn and entered the camp’s armory instead. There were weapons of every type, not just Greek, displayed on the walls, on the floor, and on shelves. Some of them I guessed were trophies or were for display only because I couldn’t remember ever seeing the Ares kids using them. There were also boxes of grenades, vials of Greek fire, and bullets stacked in one corner, some of them being open and casually exposing their contents like they were boxes of fresh produce at a farmer’s market.

Then there was the dirt and clutter. Empty soda cans and paper cups everywhere, papers, rags, towels, candy bar wrappers, boots, dirty clothes, and caked on mud was just the beginning of it. The beds were all disheveled with blankets half hanging off and pillows on the floor. In one corner was a large CD player with stacks of CDs taller than the player itself, some scattered across the floor. It looked like there had been a major going away party before everyone left to go home. Somewhere toward the middle hung a filthy looking sheet to divide the room, half being for the girls and half being for the boys. There was an overturned red couch on this side of it, its exterior stained and stuffing oozing out of large gashes and holes in various places. It looked like Mrs. O’Leary used it as a chew toy. Maybe she did.

One bed was covered in stuffed animals, crayons, and coloring books. A box of toys sat beside it. Wilbur’s bed, I guessed. It was the one piece of furniture that looked out-of-place. Coming to think of it, Wilbur himself looked out-of-place. He didn’t look like he belonged there. But then again Frank didn’t seem like a child of Ares either.

“So…uh…” It couldn’t have been a more awkward moment. I was trying not to stare at the décor, but my eyes couldn’t help wandering around the room as my mind struggled to take it all in. At the same time, I felt Vicky and Wilbur staring at me expectantly. I knew I looked like an idiot. “I heard that you’ve lost Santa Claus.” I decided not to add that it was no surprise, considering the way the inside of the cabin looked.

“Yes, I lost my toy Santa,” Wilbur said shyly, wringing his blanket and twisting it around his hands, “The one Mommy gave me…” His voice trailed off at the end, and my heart went out to this kid. It was then that I became determined to find this Santa, or else.

“Alright, let’s look for it,” I said, clapping my hands together once and looking over the cabin again. “Let’s start here in the cabin. We’ll begin here in the front and work our way back. Leave no area unsearched.”

We turned the whole inside of the cabin upside down and searched for probably two hours until we were tired and sweaty, but there was no sign of a stuffed Santa Claus anywhere. We even went through each box of grenades, Greek fire, and bullets. Still nothing. Oh sure, we found a lot of other stuff: three mildewed socks, a button, some drachmas, two Cheetos, twenty dust bunnies the size of my fist (how did these kids get away with having a cabin this dirty?), the remote for the CD player, and a half a packet of stale Big Red gum. But no Santa.

“Are you sure you didn’t lose it outside of the cabin?” I finally asked Wilbur, tossing a pillow on a nearby bed and running my hand through my sweaty, dirty hair. I felt like I was covered in several inches of dust by the time we got through.

He shook his head, tears in his eyes. “No!”

“He couldn’t have,” Vicky said. “He hasn’t been out of the cabin except to eat meals at the dining pavilion, and he wouldn’t have taken it there.”

“And you had it yesterday?”

“Yes!” Wilbur answered. “He was right there.” He pointed at the other stuffed toys setting on his bed. My eyes followed his finger. I sighed and walked over to the bed. I tore that bed apart. Could it be under the pillow? Nope. Under the sheets maybe? Nope. Behind the bed? Nope, not there either.

“Well, he couldn’t have gotten up and walked away,” I said, at last, looking around the room for any place we might have forgotten to search.

A sudden knock at the door got our attention. I walked over and opened it, almost glad for the interruption. To my surprise, Annabeth stood there with a Stoll brother in each hand. I blinked and opened the door wider, my face probably displaying the questions I wanted to ask. I already had enough problems to deal with. The Stolls were the last thing I wanted to think about, much less see.

“You won’t find Santa Claus in the Ares cabin,” said Annabeth, tightening her grip on Connor’s shirt.

“Uh…yeah, I know. We’ve turned the place inside out and haven’t found him,” I said, not entirely understanding. The way Annabeth worded it sort of derailed me too. If I didn’t know what she was talking about, it would have sounded strange. But, coming to think of it, there was some amount of truth to it. I was doubtful that Santa Claus would visit Clarisse unless she got down on her knees and begged forgiveness for sticking new campers’ heads in the toilet. That sort of thing would keep your name on the Naughty List for the rest of your life. Then I looked at the Stolls again. Santa Claus would probably skip over Camp Half-Blood altogether, either out of sheer fear or because most of the campers would be on the Naughty List. Either way, I wouldn’t blame him. “How did you know?” I asked.

Annabeth shook Travis and Connor, looking from one to the other. “You want to tell him? Or shall I?”

“We…we put it inside Jason’s suitcase.” Travis lowered his head, refusing to look me in the face.

“What? Why?” I glared at the brothers.

“It was a joke,” said Connor, flinching when his eyes met mine, “Just a prank.”

“We didn’t think there would be any harm in it,” Travis added almost innocently.

My brain blew up right then and there. I wanted to say what I was thinking, but I thought better of it and kept my mouth shut. Instead, I gripped the door facing extra tight until my knuckles turned white. It was either the door facing or the Stolls’ necks. I glared at both Stolls in turn, and I’m pretty sure the boar’s head over us glared at them too.

Jason and Piper left for Camp Jupiter early that morning. They planned to spend some time there since Jason wanted to show New Rome to Piper. After that, they were going to leave to spend Christmas with Piper’s dad. She planned to introduce Jason to him and let them get to know each other.

Odds were they were already at Camp Jupiter. I closed my eyes and attempted to get my temper under control.

“You…idiots…” I said through gritted teeth. “Do you have _any_ idea what you’ve done?”

Both Stolls whimpered and squirmed in Annabeth’s hold.

“We’ll get it back,” said Connor. “Honest.”

“No, I’ll get it back. Just…get out of my sight before I do something I’ll regret later,” I replied.

Annabeth let go of them and they ran off toward the Hermes cabin as fast as they could go, not bothering to look back.

I sighed, turning a weary look to Annabeth.

“How did you find out?” I asked.

“They were stupid enough to discuss it out in the open while they walked by my cabin.”

“So Wilbur’s Santa is at Camp Jupiter?” Vicky asked from behind me. I moved out of the way to let her into our conversation.

“Afraid so.” I sighed. “No thanks to the Stolls.”

“Are you going to get it back?”

I leaned my head against the door facing and sighed for probably the hundredth time that night. “I can get it back, but it’s awfully late. I’m not even sure how I’ll get there.”

“I gotta have Santa,” Wilbur said in a small, almost watery voice. All of us looked down at him standing beside Vicky. He looked back at us with teary eyes. “He’s the only Christmas decoration I got. The only thing I have of Mommy…”

I turned to look at Annabeth. She was staring back at me. I knew she was thinking the same thing I was. There was only one way I would be able to get there and back in the same night.

“Would you go get Mrs. O’Leary, please?” I whispered to her. She smiled, nodded, and sprinted off. I turned back to Wilbur. “Don’t you worry, Wilbur, I’ll get your Santa.”

Meanwhile, at Camp Jupiter…

Jason hefted his suitcase onto the bed and unzipped it. After throwing open the top, he stopped, hand froze in midair. Slowly he reached and picked up the stuffed Santa Claus lying on top of his clothes. It was soft and floppy, lightly worn in places, and had a cartoony expression on its face with little beady black eyes. Jason sighed, rolling his eyes upward toward the ceiling. Shaking his head, he tossed the toy to the side and began taking out shirts to hang up. He turned around and nearly dropped everything he held in his hands.

“Octavian!” he said with a frown. “Gods, you scared me. Knock once in a while.”

The scrawny, scarecrow of a boy laughed and walked inside. He was dressed in cargo pants, tennis shoes, and a blue T-shirt printed with a logo of some obscure music band that Jason was unfamiliar with. If it was anyway possible, he looked a little paler and sicklier than normal. His eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles under them, reflecting someone who hadn’t slept well in a long time.

“I can’t believe our Jason Grace actually jumped. Could it be because you’ve been spending too much time at that… _other_ …camp?” said Octavian. The smile on his face sort of unnerved Jason.

“Lay off, Octavian,” said Jason, hanging up a shirt. He turned and pointed a finger at the augur. “If you stopped being so prejudice and gave the Greek demigods a chance, you’ll find that they’re just like the Roman ones. We’re all people and part of the same family. Whether you like it or not, you have Greek brothers and sisters over at Camp Half-Blood. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

Octavian rolled his eyes and snorted. “Yeah, whatever.” He patted his chest. “I’m touched right here.”

“One of them even saved your life,” Jason continued, ignoring Octavian’s rudeness. He noticed that Octavian blanched at that, his cheeks turning the slightest red. He probably hated being reminded that a Greek had saved him from being catapulted sky-high to his death after his cape got hung on an onager.

Jason looked at Octavian skeptically. “What are you even doing here anyway? I thought Reyna and Frank banished you from camp after our battle with Gaea.”

Octavian gave a quick shrug, seemingly grateful for the change in subject. “They discussed it, but they decided to let me stay here on the grounds that I’ll be a good little boy from now on. I didn’t have anywhere else to go and they were afraid I’d get into more trouble. I think Reyna feels better knowing that I’m close so she can keep an eye on me.” Octavian rolled his eyes again as if the thought alone was annoying.

“So you’re back to being a centurion for the First Cohort?”

Octavian’s eyes shifted downward to the floor, a hint of redness flushing his pale, boney cheeks again. “Uh…no…not exactly. They…uh…stripped me of my rank and put me to work in the unicorn stables. Until I can show myself worthy and start earning back the camp’s trust, I’m not considered part of the cohorts.” A hint of frustration laced his words. He absently fingered the hilt of the small dagger hanging on his belt. “I don’t even have a probatio tablet. Can you believe that? I’m not even worthy of the lowest rank!”

Jason had to keep himself from smiling in satisfaction at that. The great Octavian stripped down to being a mere stable boy with no other rank. Life was sweet.

“Do they allow you to eat with them?” Jason still struggled to hide his smile. “Or participate in the war games?”

“Yes,” Octavian breathed through his teeth.

“You should consider yourself lucky they didn’t execute you,” Jason pointed out. “What you tried to do is worthy of execution, you know.”

“When I’m not working in the stables,” Octavian continued, ignoring what Jason said and trying his best not to meet Jason’s eyes, “I help Rachel, Ella, and Tyson rewrite the Sibylline Books.”

“I bet you’re excited about that.” Jason nodded, reaching to push his glasses farther up on his nose.

“Yeah,” Octavian said with a laugh that sounded almost forced. Jason guessed that Octavian wasn’t as excited about it as he let on, due to the fact that he was no longer in control and didn’t have Ella and the information she carried about the Sibylline Books to himself.

Silence followed as the two stood. Then Octavian’s eyes wandered over to the bed.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here? Jason, aren’t you a little old to be playing with toys?” Octavian smiled as he reached and picked up the stuffed Santa.

“Look who’s talking.” Jason smirked, his eyes glancing at the teddy bear Beanie Baby strapped to Octavian’s belt.

Octavian shot him a glare. “Mine are for sacrificial purposes. Or…they used to be…”

“Yeah, I know.” Jason pulled the Santa out of Octavian’s hands and threw it on the bed, turning his attention back to unpacking his suitcase. “But I also know how you sleep with them at night before you gut them.”

He meant for that last statement to be a joke and a snappy comeback—something to rile Octavian into ranting and raving. But Jason couldn’t help noticing that Octavian kept unusually quiet and didn’t try to deny it. Jason chanced a quick glance and saw that Octavian’s glare had turned dangerous. If looks could kill, Jason would have been immediately incinerated by the intense blue eyes that stared back at him. The augur’s face was also very red, although Jason wasn’t sure if it was from anger or embarrassment.

“H-how do you know about Fluffles?” he stuttered barely above a whisper.

Jason’s eyebrows rose and he gave Octavian a quizzical look. He almost said something stupid like, “Who’s Fluffles?” but he decided not to give away his ignorance of the subject and decided to play along instead. Who knows? He might learn something interesting.

“Well,” he started, clearing his throat, “I have my ways. I used to be praetor, you know. You learn things.”

Octavian looked madder than ever, his cheeks turning even redder. Jason hoped he wouldn’t burst into flames. That was Leo’s job.

“No one’s supposed to know about Fluffles,” he said through clenched teeth. It sounded almost like a threat, but Jason wasn’t sure. The augur turned and picked the stuffed Santa up again, squeezing it and feeling the softness with his lanky hands.

Jason sighed, stretching his hand out. “Come on, Octavian, I don’t have time for this. Piper’s waiting for me.” He waited for Octavian to hand over the toy. “Look, the Santa Claus isn’t mine, not that it’s any of your business. It belongs to a little boy back at Camp Half-Blood. Somehow it ended up in my suitcase. I don’t know how or why, but I’ll find out when I go back to camp after the holidays. Until then, the toy stays here with me. Now give it back.”

Octavian shook his head and grinned menacingly. “I don’t think so, Jason. You know too much.”

“What?”

“I’m keeping this.” He held the toy to his face. “If you tell the others about Fluffles,” Octavian unsheathed his dagger and placed it next to the Santa, “Santa dies.”

Jason glared and took a step forward. “Octavian, don’t be stupid.”

“Ah, ah.” Octavian pressed the knife closer to Santa.

“Octavian, I was only kidding. I know nothing about this…Fluffles.”

“You LIE!” Octavian shouted. “You’ve been hanging with Greeks so much that you’ve become an untrustworthy liar just like they are.”

“If you want to think that way, then go ahead. You’re hurting no one but yourself. But don’t forget that you’re here at this camp due to Reyna’s mercy.” Jason pointed at Octavian. “If you start doing dumb things again, Reyna will kick you out of here so fast it’ll make your head spin.”

Octavian faltered, then smiled and pushed the dagger’s blade closer to the Santa. “I’ll take my chances,” he answered.

“You’ve lost your mind,” said Jason.

“Have I?” Octavian grinned before turning to bolt out of the cabin.

“Octavian!” Jason shouted. It was too late. The little madman had already made his way out of earshot.

Annabeth and I came out into Camp Jupiter on the back of Mrs. O’Leary at this exact moment. My big mastiff hellhound wagged her tail happily and let out a very loud bark that echoed over the entire camp. I’m pretty sure she startled a few campers, if not all of them.

“Shh, quiet, girl,” I shushed her, scratching her behind an ear.

Before Annabeth and I could dismount, Jason came running up to us. The look on his face told me something was wrong. I was almost afraid to ask what.

“Where’s the stuffed Santa?” I asked him, assuming he would know what I was talking about. I was pretty sure he already found it.

“Octavian’s got it,” he answered.

Those were the words I so did not want to hear. Of all the places Wilbur’s Santa Claus could have ended up, it had to end up in the hands of the world’s number one teddy bear serial killer. My night was complete. I wasn’t looking forward to playing police officer and returning to Wilbur with a gutted Santa Claus in hand. What was I supposed to say? _I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news so close to Christmas, kid, but your Santa Claus is dead._

“Octavian?? How did he get hold of it?”

“It’s a long story,” he replied.

“Well, where is Octavian then?” I asked, looking around.

“He’s heading toward Temple Hill.” Jason stabbed a finger in that direction.

“Great. That’s all we need is for Octavian to sacrifice Santa Claus.” I realized how horrible that sounded after I said it. I think Annabeth and Jason realized it too because they both flinched.

“And Octavian is just the guy who _would_ sacrifice Santa,” said Annabeth.

“Come on, Mrs. O’Leary, to the temples,” I said, nudging my dog forward. Mrs. O’Leary bounded off with Jason flying close behind.

If anyone had told me that I would be riding across a Roman camp on the back of a hellhound, trying to rescue a stuffed Santa Claus toy from a maniac the week before Christmas—I would have told them they were crazy. Yet, there I was. Everyone turned and looked in our direction as we ran at top speed through the grounds. Some looked confused, while others looked excited and cheered us on. They probably didn’t even know why they were cheering us.

We arrived at Jupiter’s temple a few minutes after Octavian did. Jason flew ahead of us and got there first, landing at the base of Jupiter’s statue, right in front of the augur.

“Remember, Jason, if you tell anyone about Fluffles, Santa dies!” I heard Octavian shout. What was a Fluffles?

“Say that again, louder. I think there are a couple of people that didn’t hear you,” Jason replied. “I’ll say it again. I have no idea who or what Fluffles is. Honest. I was just playing along. You revealed the secret yourself.”

As Mrs. O’Leary came to a halt behind Jason, I saw Octavian look down at the ground, and then towards Jason again. He squeezed the stuffed Santa tightly in his hand until I was afraid it might pop.

“Octavian, there’s a little boy back at Camp Half-Blood who needs that Santa. Don’t be an idiot,” I said.

“Who cares?” Octavian sneered.

“Wilbur’s mother gave him that Santa,” I said.

“So?” said Octavian with a laugh. “Why should I care?”

“She died, Octavian.” I glared at him. For the first time since I’d known him, he actually looked uncomfortable.

“Died?” he said.

“She was murdered. That Santa is the only thing of her that he has left.”

Octavian looked down at the Santa in his hand as if he didn’t know what to do with it.

That’s when everything took a different turn. I wasn’t sure what happened or how it happened or why it happened, but I did know that Mrs. O’Leary suddenly jerked under us, nearly causing myself and Annabeth to fall off backward. She bounded forward, running over Octavian and disappearing into a shadow. I heard Octavian scream and Jason shout something right before all of us disappeared into blackness.

We came out into Camp Half-Blood and Mrs. O’Leary immediately flopped down on the ground to recover from both trips. Jason had grabbed onto Mrs.O’Leary’s tail and came through with us. And Octavian also came through with us. When Mrs. O’Leary ran over him, he grabbed hold of the fur on her stomach and held on. Now that we were on normal ground again, I could hear him screeching and cursing under us, partly out of anger and partly out of fear.

“Get this mutt off me!!” he shouted, pounding O’Leary’s leg and side with his fist. He was struggling to keep his head out in the open so he wouldn’t suffocate under the layers of fur. The hellhound just laid there, her mouth falling open and her tongue lolling out as if she knew exactly what she was doing.

I smiled as I slid off the dog’s back and helped Annabeth down.

“I said, get this thing off me!” Octavian grunted.

“Hm…I don’t know,” Jason mused, walking around to where we were. “Will you promise to behave yourself?”

Octavian stopped struggling long enough to shoot Jason a murderous glare, and then his face softened. He sighed in defeat and nodded.

“Mrs. O’Leary, let Octavian up,” I told my dog, patting her on the side. She stood, allowing the boy up. His clothes were wrinkled and dirty and he still held the stuffed Santa in one hand.

Jason walked over and grabbed Octavian by the arm before he got the crazy idea to make a run for it. I knew what I had to do, though, so I waved Jason out of the way and grabbed onto Octavian myself, turning him around and walking over to the Ares cabin. Jason and Annabeth followed us. I walked up the steps, dragging Octavian behind me.

“Let go of me!” Octavian griped, twisting around in my hold. I was glad that he wasn’t that big of a guy and wasn’t that strong, otherwise, I would have had a hard time holding him in place. As it was, he was very easily manageable.

“I will just as soon as we take care of something,” I replied. I turned and knocked on the door. Vicky and Wilbur answered.

“I found your Santa, Wilbur,” I said, tightening my grip on the back of Octavian’s shirt and shoving him forward into the cabin. Vicky and Wilbur moved out of the way to let him pass. “But there’s someone attached to it.”

Octavian stumbled over the threshold and righted himself. His eyes quickly scanned the room, finally landing on the girl and little boy standing behind the door. Everyone looked at each other like they were all long lost relatives that finally found each other after fifty years. It was a bit awkward, to say the least. I think Octavian was a bit embarrassed from being put on the spot. Suddenly all eyes were on him.

It was quiet for at least five minutes as Octavian continued to size up Vicky and Wilbur. I was sure that he would make a scene. For one thing, he was in a Greek camp. That alone should have made him throw either a good size tantrum or a paranoid fit.

But he surprised all of us that night.

As we waited for what would transpire, Octavian stood and stared quietly at little Wilbur. Both locked eyes—one full of innocence and the other full of malice. Wilbur slowly made his way over to Octavian, carrying his green blanket in one hand.

“Merry Christmas,” Wilbur said innocently, twisting his blanket around in his hands.

My whole body tensed. I think even my hair tensed. I was expecting Octavian to spew out some of his ugly insults. But he didn’t.

Octavian’s face relaxed and his eyebrows rose. He looked momentarily confused like it was the first time someone had wished him any sort of friendly greeting.

“You found Santa!” Wilbur continued, looking at the toy in Octavian’s left hand. “The Stolls stole him and put him in Jason’s suitcase as a prank. I thought he was gone for good, but you found him!”

Octavian stood motionless, towering over the small boy like he might haul off and smite him. Finally, he turned to look at us then back at Wilbur. He sighed, the slightest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He handed the Santa to Wilbur and lifted a hand to ruffle the boy’s hair.

“Yeah, I found him. Merry Christmas, kid,” he said.

Without another word, Octavian walked forward, pushing by Annabeth and Jason and exiting the cabin. He was on his way to Mrs. O’Leary when he stopped and turned. There, not more than several feet away from us, stood Will Solace.

“Octavian?” he said gently, taking a few cautious steps toward the augur as if he expected him to run away or attack. Octavian blinked and looked down at the ground. I wasn’t sure, but I think he was ashamed to look Will in the eyes.

“What do _you_ want?” Octavian said with a huff. “Haven’t you humiliated me enough already?”

Will’s brow furrowed like he didn’t understand. “What? You mean me saving your life? How is that humiliating?”

Octavian shook his head and waved Will off, obviously not wanting to discuss the matter further.

“You know the Apollo cabin here is always open to you,” said Will, changing the subject. Octavian turned his head and studied the blond boy in front of him. He moved uncomfortably.

“Y-you would still have me after all that I’ve done?”

“Of course,” Will replied. “You’re family. Why do you think I saved you?”

Octavian continued to look at Will, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. “B-but I’m Roman and you’re Greek.”

“So?” said Will. “That’s never stopped people from being a family before.”

Octavian’s mouth worked and he chewed at his lower lip.

“Won’t you just come and visit?” Will offered, gesturing at the Apollo cabin. “It’s Christmas. I could introdu—”

“No!” Octavian snapped, cutting Will off. “I don’t trust you Greeks. It’s got to be some sort of a trick or a trap.”

“It’s no trap. And why would I want to trick you? You’re—”

“I know,” Octavian sneered bitterly, “Family. You’ve said it a million times. I’m sick of hearing it. All of you get it through your heads that I don’t have any Greek family.”

Will looked hurt. I could tell that he was disappointed at the way Octavian was acting. I felt sorry for him and held myself back from strangling Octavian right then and there.

“I saved your life,” said Will, his voice tinged with sadness. “I thought there might be some goodness somewhere inside you—some hint of decency. I guess I was wrong.”

With that, Will turned and slowly made his way back to the Apollo cabin. Annabeth, Jason, and I exchanged looks, not entirely sure what to do.

“I demand that you take me back!” Octavian shouted suddenly. “NOW!”

“Alright, alright, don’t get your toga in a twist,” I said. I nodded to Jason. He nodded back and walked over to again take a firm grip on Octavian’s arm.

“Come on, let’s go,” he said with a sigh, pulling the augur over to Mrs. O’Leary. “Piper is probably worried sick about me by now.”

“Are you going to tell Reyna?” Octavian whispered softly. Jason studied Octavian then looked over at me and Annabeth. He pushed his glasses up on his nose.

“No, I’m not going to tell her,” Jason finally answered. Octavian looked surprised. “Not this time. I expect you to behave yourself after this. If you ever pull something like this again, I’ll tell Reyna.”

Octavian swallowed and nodded.

While Jason busied himself with getting Octavian on the back of Mrs. O’Leary, I pulled Annabeth to the side.

“After we drop them off at Camp Jupiter, do you mind taking a little side trip with me?” I asked her. She turned a quizzical look to me.

“Sure,” she said, smiling. “What do you have in mind?”

“It’s for Wilbur.” I grinned.

 

We dropped Jason and Octavian off at Camp Jupiter and then stopped by a few stores to do a little bit of shopping. When we arrived back at Camp Half-Blood for the second time that night, it was really late. I was afraid the harpies would find us, so Annabeth and I quickly made our way to the Ares cabin. I struggled with the bags in my hand, trying to maneuver them around. Finally, I got a hand free and knocked. There was no answer. I knocked again. This time, a light came on and someone started fumbling at the doorknob. When it opened, a half-asleep Vicky stood in front of us.

“This had better be important,” she said irritably.

“It is.” I grinned, stepping inside the cabin. Annabeth and I sat our bags and a long box down on the floor.

“This is for Wilbur,” said Annabeth.

“For me?” the sleepy voice said. We turned toward Wilbur’s bed. I didn’t think he was awake, but apparently my knocking on the door woke him.

“Hey, sorry to wake you,” I said, picking up a bag and carrying it over to him. “But Annabeth and I…well…we thought you needed a Christmas.”

I pulled out a couple of boxes of ornaments of various shapes and colors, some tinsel, and a small package of lights and put them on Wilbur’s bed. Annabeth brought the long box over and propped it up against the wall, showing it to the boy. It was a small artificial tree, the smallest we could find.

“And you can’t have a proper Christmas without a tree.” Annabeth smiled. She tore open the box and began pulling out branches. “I mean, what else are you going to put your gifts under?”

I grabbed another bag and showed him the colorfully wrapped packages inside it. I can’t begin to explain Wilbur’s reaction. His eyes lit up and he was speechless for the longest time. Then his excitement started to bubble over and he talked more than I had ever heard him talk.

Yeah, it might have been late, but we spent an hour decorating the inside of the Ares cabin for Christmas. It was strange, but it worked. Annabeth and I would be late getting out of camp in the morning, but I actually didn’t care. It was the best time Wilbur had had in a long time, and that made me feel great—it made all of us feel great. It wasn’t every day that I got to play Santa Claus. I didn’t have a costume, but you don’t need a costume to be Santa to someone.

“Thank you,” Vicky whispered as we stepped out of the cabin door, “for everything.”

Annabeth and I nodded. We could still hear ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ blaring from the CD player and Wilbur singing along.

“Don’t mention it. We were happy to do it,” I said.

“You don’t know how much it means to him.” Vicky glanced behind her. “He’s been so quiet lately since it turned December. I think he’s been missing his mother a lot the past few weeks since it’s nearing Christmas. This really helped to cheer him up.”

“You just make sure he doesn’t tear into those gifts before Christmas Morning.” I pointed.

Vicky smiled and laughed. “I will.”

“Make sure of it,” Annabeth added. “Come on, Seaweed Brain, we’ve got last minute packing to do and then we need to get at least a few hours’ sleep.”

“Merry Christmas,” I said with a wave.

“Merry Christmas,” Vicky replied.

“Merry Christmas!” Wilbur shouted to us from behind Vicky. Turning, Annabeth and I parted ways to go back to our own cabins.

 

-End


End file.
